ALFALFA AND THE DAIRY 



145 



best first, and, if given too much, will pick the most 

 desirable morsels, leaving what might be called passably- 

 good, which too frequently is treated as waste and 

 thrown under foot. No more hay should be given an 

 animal than it will eat up clean. This refers to first-class 

 quality, however, as a cow could not be expected to eat 

 poor hay clean. 



'In feeding the rough feeds, the following table has 

 been used by the college as a guide : 



Roughness. — Value per ton when alfalfa is worth jSi.oo per ton. 



Feed. 



Dry Roughness. 



Alfalfa 



Corn-fodder.... 



Cowpeas... 



Fodder corn . . . . 



Milet 



Oathay 



Oat straw. . . . . . 



Orchard-grass . . 



Prairie hay 



Red clover. . . . . 



Sorghum. 



Soy-beans 



Mixed hay 



Timothy 



Wheat straw . . . 



Total 



Protein 



nutrients. 



nutrients. 



fi.oo 



|x.oo 



.32 



.19 



*97 



102 



.40 

 .64 



.24 

 .42 



.59 



.41 



•33 



.60 



•15 

 •45 



•51 



.70 



•33 

 .64 



•43 



.98 



.67 



.23 



1.02 

 .56 



.47 

 .25 



,27 

 .08 



Feed. 



Green Roughness. 



Alfalfa 



Corn silage 



Fodder corn 



Pasture grasses. . . 

 Sorghum fodder. . 

 Soy-beans 



Roots AND Tubers. 



Mangels 



Sugar-beets 



Turnips,... 



Total 

 nutrients. 



I034 



•13 

 .14 

 .23 

 .12 

 .28 



.10 

 .14 



Protein 

 nutrients. 



$0.37 

 .12 



.09 

 .24 

 .06 

 .30 



.09 

 .10 

 .08 



^'Students working with the dairy herd were anxious 

 to have the cows make the best possible yields, and were 

 tempted to give all the good alfalfa hay the cows would 

 eat. When we discovered the alfalfa hay going too rap- 

 idly we looked for the cause and found that the dairy 

 cows had consumed an average of forty-three pounds per 

 head daily, besides fifteen pounds of Kafir-corn fodder. 

 The quantity of alfalfa was reduced to thirty-three pounds 



